Radical plans to overhaul student finance in Wales will see tuition fee grants replaced with support for living costs.

But how does it compare to the financial support currently available to students and who is in line to benefit?

Financial support for higher education comes in many forms and depends on where you will be studying, your household income and the year you start your studies.

Some funding, such as loans will need to be paid back. Other forms of funding, such as grants or bursaries don’t need to be paid back.

Our Education Editor Gareth Evans compares the proposed student funding system with that currently operating in Wales...

Under the current system, students may be entitled to....

Students in Wales are currently entitled to a non-repayable tuition fee grant

• Tuition fee loan/grant

Universities and colleges can charge up to £9,000 a year in tuition fees, but you can get a tuition fee loan of up to £3,810 and a fee grant of up to £5,190 to help pay the fee charged by your university or college.

• Adult dependants’ grant

You can only apply for the dependants’ grant if you have a partner or another adult who is financially dependent on you; and you can only do so once, irrespective of the number of adult dependants.

The amount of dependants’ grant available to you depends on your income, that of your partner and any other dependants.

The income of the adult that is dependent on you must be no more than £3,923.

• Disabled students’ allowances

Are available if you have a disability, mental-health condition or specific learning difficulty.

Funding is designed to support students who may not have otherwise been able to attend a higher education course.

There are four types of disabled students’ allowances: non-helper medical allowance (max £21,181 per year); specialist equipment allowance (max £5,332 for the whole course); other disability-related expenditure allowance (max £1,785 per year); and disability-related travel (defined as reasonable spending on travel costs incurred as a result of the student’s condition).

Under the new system, students may be entitled to....

Students heading to university in the coming years could see a change in funding available

• Tuition fee loans

Loan repayments would continue at a rate of 9% of the graduate salary above £21,000 (frozen until 2021) and the discount rate applied to repayments set by the Treasury (currently 0.7%).

• Non-means-tested maintenance grant

A £1,000-a-year universal maintenance grant will be available to all full-time Welsh-domiciled students, regardless of their background.

• Means-tested grant to cover living costs

The top rate of maintenance grant for a student living away from home outside London, should be equivalent to the National Living Wage –based on 37.5 hours per week over a 30 week period (currently £8,100).

A maximum total grant of 25% more (£10,125) to be available for a student living away from home in London and 15% less (£6,885) for students living at home.

• Part-time students

They will be eligible for a £1,000 non-means-tested maintenance grant, with additional means-tested grant up to a maximum based on £6,000 full-time equivalent, but with the maximum grant available up to a £25,000 household income.

• Postgraduate students

Postgraduate students will receive the same level of maintenance and tuition fee support as undergraduate students (a tuition fee loan up to the current £9,000 maximum; a non-means-tested maintenance grant; and a means-tested grant or non-means-tested loan).